No idea what that item is, but I have seen it mounted to the pilot's left vs between his legs. A good source for photos is
[http://memorial.flight.free.fr/indexuk.html]
look in the Gallery- old photos tab & theres a black & whiite without the "item" there. In the panoramic cockpit view, I think it was visible on the left (I must be missing a plugin or something, can't get it to work for me).
Maybe Arizona Modelers would know?
good lulck
-m